SunPower Signs PPA with PG&E, Creates 200 Green Jobs

Submitted by system on September 10, 2012 - 16:13

SunPower Corp has just signed a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) to deliver the power generated by the Henrietta solar farm in Kings County to the state of California.

According to SunPower Corp, the project will create 200 construction jobs, and inject $72.7 million in the local economy. SunPower Corp has not disclosed how many permanent jobs will be created to operate and maintain the solar farm when it goes online.

The project, when completed will deliver 100 MW of electricity, enough to power an estimated 36,000 average homes. The solar farm will be built with SunPower's latest solar technology that can rotate the solar panels to follow the sun, which increases efficiency by 25%.

"We are very pleased to be working again with PG&E to deliver cost-competitive solar power at a 100MW scale, while creating jobs and economic opportunity for the local community," said Howard Wenger, SunPower president, regions.

Still, the project is not a sure thing. It is contingent on approval by the California Public Utilities Commission and SunPower's ability to complete all applicable permits. It is expected that construction will begin in 2015, with the plant beginning commercial operation by late 2016.